Missing You
by Ooshii Kurai
Summary: Going Down continues! Enduring a questioning memory, Conan unintentionally gets himself in over his head on a case. It's up to the Detective Boys, Ran and Kogoro to save him before time runs out!
1. All Better Now

Missing you

Disclaimers: You should know by now I'm not Gosho Aoyama. I seriously doubt he'd do things like this to his characters.

Omg. I can't believe I'm doing this. Haha. I know several people loved my story **Going Down-** my first time Detective Conan and one hit wonder in the fandom. I never realized how popular it would get.

Well thanks to a Miss dewdropfirefly- Going Down has earned its sequel. I had never written Going Down to have a sequel so this came as a surprise to me when she proposed a question about the last chapter. Suddenly ideas just popped into my head that led to a story idea I had never been able to properly ground.

So omg, here is Going Down's sequel- Missing You. It's all your fault, dewdropfirefly.

* * *

**Chapter One**: All Better Now

The worst is over now  
And we can breathe again  
-Amy Lee

**C**onan drummed his fingers against the plastic armrest. The nurses were spying at him from behind the corner- making sure he didn't try to get out of the wheelchair unsupported. Honestly it irritated him that they were always on his beckon call. He had been in this hospital for nearly three months now- and only two of those months were he conscious for.

It felt good to be back in street clothes again. Jeans hugged his thighs while a light blue pullover neatly put his appearance back into one of health. He hated wearing the hospital gowns that seemed to have illnesses and weakness clinging to them like moss.

The boy flexed his legs in the wheel chair testing them each in turn. Sometimes the shakes still spazzed through his healing body, reminding him of the days he had forgotten to use it. They didn't hurt so to say. It was just an uncontrollable feeling that made him angry with his body more often than naught.

Sighing, Conan fingered his comforting glasses and looked around the waiting room with impatience. A few people were scattered throughout the room. Grownups read assorted magazines in various waiting chairs. Some kids played in the corner with the colorful lego set. A little girl was hogging the blue pieces for her very blue tower that seemed to resemble nothing at all but a big giant stick. And seeing the way she banished it at the other two boys with her, Conan didn't doubt that was what she was going to use it for.

Occasionally an adult would send him a sympathetic look that he'd ignore. He'd been in the hospital long enough to not feel sorry for himself anymore. After all, they caught the person who did it. At least that's what Ran said.

Ran.

Conan couldn't help but smile every time he thought about her. She was such a nice girl. She was there when he first woke up and was the first person he remembered a name for. It seemed to come instantly even though he wasn't quite sure when he met her. His memories had become a mess of photographs that he couldn't quite yet place together in chronically order yet. Everyday they made more sense. The ones that didn't, he'd just push back and wait for his memory to fill in the gaps. It was a good way to keep him from becoming frustrated.

Grinning to himself, Conan leaned lazily back in his wheel chair. The ceiling was uneventful but it gave him a blank slate for him to think upon. This churning mind of his often gave him trouble with its incessant need to keep a flow of thousands of things running through his mind all at once.

He tipped his head up at the sound of the jingling bells- the door opening. His eyes lit up. Almost too eagerly, Conan's tiny hands grabbed hold of the wheels of his chair and propelled himself towards the entrance.

"Ran-neesan!" Conan piped happily almost colliding into the teenager with his mobile chair. Ran caught the wheels just in time, jerking the kid to a halt, and grinning at him a few inches from his face.

"I caught you this time," Ran smirked triumphantly releasing the wheels so that Conan could tether backwards a bit. He giggled childishly and then suddenly felt the compelling urge not to do so. Frowning, Conan looked back up to Ran as she made her way around the wheelchair. She gave a wave to the stoic nurses, who barely gave acknowledgement back, and then pressed forward on the handles as Conan cooperatively kicked open the door.

And then they were free.

* * *

**I**t wasn't worth the effort carting the wheelchair up the stairs. So leaving Conan to support himself, Ran folded the device up and hefted it up to the office before coming back down to fetch him.

Holding tight to her arm, Conan took small-calculated steps back up to a home that was bursting with waiting familiarity.

Ran looked down at the young boy with a quiet smile. His wondering eyes seemed to speak for themselves. "Do you remember this place, Conan-kun?"

"Yes," Conan nodded before noticing Kogoro sitting behind his desk- slobbering drunk as usual. Conan waved with his other hand to the man, just getting a grunt and a toast of his beer can in return. "Hallo Uncle Mori."

"Oi Conan-kun," Kogoro muttered dully. "Welcome back."

"Geez, Dad," Ran spat angrily- moving forward too fast for Conan's legs to keep up. "Couldn't you have waited until after Conan got home? It's not even noon yet. And I told you he was coming home today. I just got this floor clean."

She kicked a few beer cans away in frustration before realizing she had just dragged Conan halfway across the room.

"Oh! I'm sorry, Conan," Ran sputtered, helping him up off his knees. The poor kid didn't even get a chance to get his slippers on yet- dragged along the floor with one socked and one shoed foot.

Conan shrugged, embarrassed that she had been able to so easily overwhelm him. Ran started on helping to get his other shoe off when Kogoro let out a loud belch. Conan saw Ran's face get red and immediately knew to duck and cover.

Ran walked smartly over to her father, whacked him over the head with Conan's shoe, and then proceeded to dumping all his cans in the trashcan- and confiscating all others not yet opened. Conan watched from between his shielded arms realizing that this was the first time since the accident that he had seen Ran angry. But yet somehow he instinctively knew what was going to happen.

Pleased with himself, Conan pulled his body up onto still somewhat shaky legs and walked over to the couch to sit. He yawned and looked over his hands somewhat absentmindedly. One hand was normal enough. The other had a scar from the accident. It was long and went down his entire palm- grinning pieces of broken flesh that never seemed to stop making fun of him.

Conan didn't remember much about the accident. He was curious about what happened but every time he asked about it the room would go quiet. He remembered an elevator and the sickening feeling of falling down- but the scar was strange. Conan couldn't remember how he hurt his hand.

He ran a finger down it, cringing slightly at its rough feeling. It looked sort of like a check mark almost. Conan wondered what he had fallen on to make such a weird indentation.

The phone rang making everyone in the room jump. Conan looked over just in time to see Ran race to it. She grabbed the receiver before her father and answered in a rush, "Moshi moshi?"

Her expression dulled when she heard the voice on the line but only momentarily. It was so sudden that Conan wondered if perhaps he had imagined the change.

"Hello Kaasan!" Ran grinned sending a wink over Conan's way. "Yes, Conan got released today. Uh huh. You don't say? Hey, Mom. Wanna talk to Dad?"

Before either could protest, the receiver was pressed into Mr. Mori's hands. Grumbling, Kogoro gave an irritable hello that eventually spawned into a "well-I-didn't-much-wanna-talk-to-you-either".

Ran chuckled deviously as she plopped down on the couch across from Conan. She shared with him a knowing smile, before placing a finger to her lips.

Conan remembered Kogoro and Eri's relationship. Even if he didn't- he saw enough of it when in the hospital. Eri often came to visit while he was still recovering, sometimes even at the same time that Kogoro did. They barked and yelled at each other but Conan knew that somehow they must have cared enough about Ran to care about him in turn. So perhaps their marriage wasn't as much of a failure as the two often made it up to be. Ran might very well be the reason the two get back together. After all, Ran told him that the two were living back home after the accident but as soon as things lifted again- Eri moved out again.

'_Perhaps I should have stayed in coma a little while longer then?'_ Conan had offered half-heartedly. His remark earned him Ran's sharp retort and her urging not to have him speaking like that anymore. And because it upset her so much, Conan decided it was best to do as she said.

"Hey Ran," Conan asked leaning against the armrest with curiosity brimming his words. "Are you expecting a call?"

Ran immediately flushed. "No, why do you ask?"

"No reason," Conan began playing his fingers along the seam of the couch. "It's just that- well, you seemed to answer that phone call awfully fast. And when you found out it was your Kaasan… Ran-neesan, you looked sad for a moment."

Ran sighed, tipping her upper body over her knees. Kogoro had begun yelling at the receiver and Ran didn't say anything until after he had slammed it down back into its place.

"I was waiting for Shinichi to call. You see- he hasn't called me in awhile," her blue eyes wandered up to meet his. "So I suppose I'm just worried about him."

"Oh," came Conan's reply. He thumbed the seam some more before tilting his head ever so slightly and asking, "Do I know him?"

To Be Continued…

Please R & R!

Yes. I am still an evil author. Fear me.

Still accepting fan art of any kind. Cause I just love seeing what you all make of my stories. Anyhow, I hope you enjoy this one as much as you enjoyed Going Down.

Please review and stay tuned for future chapters.

With a keen eye for detail, one truth prevails.

**EDIT: I keep getting people who complain about the dub names. I give up- just lay off me already. This story will continue without the dub names just to shut up the people who are always complaining. **


	2. One Man Short

**Missing You**

**Disclaimers:** You should know by now I'm not Gosho Aoyama. I seriously doubt he'd do things like this to his characters.

After putting this story on hold for a considerable amount of time, I decided to come back and actually write the second chapter. I'm sorry that it took me so long. I had to rethink the direction.

Remember, Haibara Ai isn't in this story yet. I wrote Going Down before I saw her entrance. So currently the main characters would be the main cast, Conan's parents, Agasa Detective Boys, and Heiji Hattori.

So here's the revision!

**Last Time on Missing You:**  
Hospitals, wheelchairs, unwanted phone calls, and a forgotten name.  
Quote: "Oi Conan-kun," Kogoro muttered dully. "Welcome back."

* * *

**Chapter Two**: One Man Short

I dreamed I was missing  
You were so scared  
-Linkin Park

"**Y**ou don't remember, Shinichi?"

"I…" Conan hesitated. "I don't know… should I?"

"Oh," Though her voice didn't show it, Ran looked sobered. "No, no. Don't worry, Conan-kun. He hasn't been around for a while."

"Maybe he would remember if you showed him a picture, Ran."

Ran glanced where her father now stood, running his fingers down the spines of photo albums in his tiny office space. "It's okay, Dad. You don't have to."

Kogoro squeezed a particularly thick album out of its place and hefted it over to the coffee table. He plopped the binder heavily in front of Conan without addressing his daughter. Ran tried to protest with hushed urgency, _"The doctor said not to bully him into remembering anything!" _but Conan was curious. He reached for the book before Ran could rush it away from him.

Ran could only look on with disapproval as Conan turned the thick pages. There were smiling faces of Ran, not much younger than she was now. Some were from birthdays, golden week parade, and what appeared to be a karate tournament.

"You know karate, Ran-neesan?"

"Ah, yes."

"Yeah… I remember," said Conan at length. "You were captain of the karate team."

"Yes that's right."

Conan thumbed a picture where Ran was proudly hefting a trophy. The blonde girl Conan recognized as Sonoko was at her side, beaming as if the trophy was just as much hers. Sonoko, Conan met her only once at the hospital. Conan knew he knew her, but I just couldn't remember why he knew her yet. Perhaps just through Ran, since Ran did say that Sonoko was her best friend.

And then on the next page there were pictures of a boy. Not really a boy, in Conan's mind. He was Ran's age, a young man, looking miserable as both Sonoko and Ran press-ganged him into the various photographs. He was tall, dark haired, with a snide sort of smile and intelligent looking eyes.

"_That's_ Shinichi," said Kogoro. "Ran's boyfriend."

"Dad!" But Ran was blushing. Conan wasn't sure why that made him feel strange. It could have been jealousy. But yet, as Conan stared at the photograph he became more aware of a strange feeling burning in his chest.

Shinichi lived in these photographs. Conan was surprised how often he populated the pages. It seemed that wherever there was a camera and Ran, there was Shinichi to jump in and prove his existence. But no matter how many cameras he was willing to prove himself to Conan didn't believe him.

And then all of the sudden, he disappeared. Conan feverishly filtered through the rest of the album unable to see a single reappearance. Shinichi had simply vanished. His last debut was in pictures of him and Ran at some sort of amusement park.

The outfit Shinichi was wearing seemed eerily familiar to Conan. He felt as if he were being suffocated by it, tripping over the excess, unable to keep it up over his waist.

"Where is that?'

"That's Tropical Land. Have you ever been there, Conan-kun?"

Conan couldn't answer. His head was hurting almost unbearably. There was a stabbing pain between his eyes slowly bleeding back into the base of his skull. He leaned forward and grasped the bridge of his nose, trying to fight back the sudden headache.

"Maybe… Maybe Conan would remember if we took him to Tropical Land."

"No, Dad! Stop it. What's wrong with you? He doesn't have to remember Shinichi— not yet anyway. Only if he's ready, okay Conan-kun?"

Ran rubbed Conan's back, mistaking his oncoming headache as a sign of frustration. The motion was comforting regardless of its purpose. Conan tried to respond but his answer fell short of his lips. What came out instead was a soft moan, pathetic really. But his headache wasn't lessening.

Conan wanted to believe it was a side affect of remembering something. But all his brain seemed be doing right now was blocking out all other forms of thought. How could he be remembering something if the pain was so intense that it labored thinking?

"I was just saying. Tropical Land might trigger a total recall instead of all these little memory spurts that he's been getting the past month."

"In Conan's case recall might cause him emotional stress," snapped Ran. "Dad, the doctor told you about this. We can't _force_ Conan to remember anything!"

"I'm not forcing him. Let's just make a day of it. You like Tropical Land. If anything, Conan will enjoy himself."

"No!"

Kogoro and Ran stared at Conan. The boy was sweating, trembling, and looking very pale. His eyes were wide and watery with oncoming tears. He moved his shivering hands to his face and across his red cheeks.

"Conan-kun…"

"No! I don't want to go there!"

"Co-"

"No! Leave me alone!" shrieked the boy as he thrust his face into the couch's throw pillow. Ran touched his shoulders and he ripped them away from her, sobbing into the material. He couldn't articulate the sheer terror running through him. And just as suddenly as it had come, it was gone.

_Why?_ He asked himself through mouthful of pillow._ Why am I crying?_

And slowly, perhaps even a realization of this, Conan raised his head off the pillows. He stared confusingly at the tear stains left in his wake. _What was that? Who… was that?_

"Conan? Are you alright?"

"I- I don't know. What happened?"

"Are you scared of amusement parks?"

"Dad! Don't be so direct! Conan, honey… do you know why you don't want to go… to that place?"

"What place?"

Ran began mouthing the word before thinking better of it. With a quick warning glare to her father, Ran turned back to Conan and took his tiny hands in hers.

"It's not important, okay? Don't worry about it."

Kogoro huffed and fell back onto the couch across from the two of them. "We need to take him back to a doctor. Even selective memory loss is still memory loss. He needs to see a specialist."

"I guess. But- tomorrow. Conan only just got back."

"Tomorrow, first thing."

Conan felt his cheeks burning. No- he was supposed to be getting better. Ran was so happy when he was getting better. This- this was opposite of better! And it was all _his _fault.

Conan glared down at the teenager smiling up at him from the photographs. _You jerk. Why can't I remember you?_

* * *

**T**he backseat of the rented car smelt funny. Conan leaned back in the stiff leather seats uncomfortably. No matter how he twisted, the seat belt still cut into his neck. But all this might have just been because was irritable about going to the doctor's this morning.

Kogoro was also grumpy, suffering from a slight hangover from the night before. It seemed that Ran had been the only one in good spirits. She sat in shotgun, window rolled down, enjoying the wind tossing her hair around. Conan watched her absentmindedly.

Although Conan had expected to be sent back to school right away, he was spending his first Monday back going to yet another doctor. And Ran too. She was missing school for him.

And worst of all, Conan didn't feel sick! The whole thing was silly. Who cared if he remembered one person anyway? Surely this guy wasn't _that_ important. Especially if he wasn't even around anymore.

Conan pressed his cheek against the passenger window watching the buildings flash anonymously by. What else didn't he yet remember? Had he been on this street before? Had he gone inside some of these buildings? Were those peoples on the street not quite the strangers he seemed to think they were?

Conan glanced down at his scar again. Yes, and how did _that_ happen?

The car slowed as Mori turned in to a small parking lot. He pulled into a tight parking spot and quickly got out the car. Conan peered up through the wind shield at the faded yellow sign. _Albertson's Anesthesiology Clinic_.

Anesthesiology. The study of anesthesia, a condition of having sensation blocked. Somehow, he knew that. How the information flashed into his mind, startled Conan. For some reason he knew that someone his age shouldn't know something unusual like that.

Ran opened the side door, startling him.

"Come on, Conan-kun," said Ran with a smile reaching over to help him unbuckle his seat belt. Gingerly he took her hand when she offered it and carefully crawled out of the vehicle. Her grip was strong and comforting. He was able to brace his body weight against hers- using her as a crutch so that they needn't get the wheelchair.

Kogoro waited for them on the curb, urging them forward with impatient gestures. "Come on. Come on," He grumbled. "I have an appointment with a client this afternoon. I don't wanna be here all day."

Some peeling white letters stood out on the door- basically detailing the same information as the sign. He was a doctor that was a specialist in the functions of hypnosis, relaxation, obtundation (prevention of exaggerated autonomic reflexes), analgesia (blocking the sensation of pain) and of course amnesia.

There it was again. That useless spew of information scrolling about his brain. What had he swallowed an encyclopedia as a child? Wait... Wasn't he still a child?

Conan allowed himself to be led clumsily into the clean doctor's office. Despite outside appearances, the waiting room was warm and friendly with soft natural colors and comfortable furniture. Though Conan supposed that it was important that he feel comfortable. After all, being without some of your memories was never a comforting thing. This office was supposed to be a place of solace.

So far, it's goal had been achieved. Conan relaxed into one of the sofa seats, ignoring the pangs shooting up his legs that urged for movement. He only half listened in as Kogoro chimed in at the front desk and spoke to the receptionist. Unfortunately the reprieve only lasted so long.

"Mister Edogawa? The doctor will see you now."

Ran helped Conan to his unsteady feet. They passed through the open door frame to a small hallway. The nurse took them to the last room. It was cold- unlike the welcoming waiting room. Stark white walls, tile flooring, and a bench (that Conan knew as the exam table) in the center of the room covered over in a roll of sanitary paper. And just beyond the door a blonde haired brown eyed gaijin stood waiting for them.

"_Hello_," he greeted in English before reverting back into a remarkably fluent Japanese. "My name is Gray Albertson. But I prefer to be known as _Doctor Gray_."

He held out a hand to shake which Kogoro took hesitantly. "I am Mori Kogoro," he nodded deeply in replace for his habitable bow. "And this is my daughter Ran and... Conan."

"_Hello._" Both Conan and Ran echoed in English politely.

"So you are little Conan," smiled the doctor pleasantly down at the young dark haired boy. "I must apologize. I don't usually work with children quite so young. But I will try my very best to help you, alright?"

Conan nodded numbly in response. He didn't feel shy, per say. Just agitated. He grown quite a distaste for doctors as of late. They were really good at making you feel infirm even if you weren't.

"Ah sir. I can't help but notice that your-" began Kogoro.

"A foreigner? Yes, I am. But my wife was Japanese. I've lived in this country for the past twenty or so years. But I port from upstate _Maine_," He paused and turned back to Conan with a smile. "That's in the United States of America."

Conan frowned. "I knew that." Although he wasn't quite sure how.

"Did you?" said the doctor with mild surprise. "What a smart young man!"

"Conan knows a lot of things. Before the- uh. Before _it_ happened, Conan used to help my father with his detective work," explained Ran.

Although the idea seemed alien to Conan now, he had come to see that fact as truth. After all, all his grade school friends had formed a group called the Detective Boys which apparently he was a part of. They had bragged to him about a number of cases they had already solved. Most of which didn't sound all _that_ impressive to Conan. But they had mentioned a murder here and a robber there. But they probably were just exaggerating.

"Wow. Talented and ambitious! At so young! So tell me, Conan? Do you travel much?" The doctor's eyes went to Kogoro as well. Kogoro flushed instinctively.

"Oh, uh. He's not mine- ours. Conan is just staying with us while his parents are abroad."

"That's mighty considerate of you. To even go to such lengths as getting him treatment...?"

"His parents are paying for it. And... it's only right. Since he was in our charge when it happened," said Kogoro solemnly. It was clear that he hadn't quite forgiven the part he played in the child's accident, not that it had been anyone's fault (aside from Jay Kasai).

Doctor Gray wisely turned back to the previous subject, "Well did you Conan? Travel a lot with your parents? Been to the Americas at all?"

"Yes," said Conan at great length. "I remember seeing the statue of liberty. And Broadway. And the world trades."

"Ah. The big apple. That's a great place to have seen."

Conan shrugged nonchalantly, "I don't remember what it was like. Just that I've been there and seen it."

"I was asking because your name is so unusual for a Japanese child. I was expecting a foreigner, to be honest."

"My parents named me after Arthur Conan Doyle," said Conan automatically. "They're a big fan of detective mysteries."

"I see," said the doctor, picking up a clipboard from the nearby counter and scribbling down a few notes. Conan couldn't quite see what was so revealing in their conversation that needed to be written down. It wasn't as if anyone said anything important in the pass few minutes.

"If you'd like to take a seat... Conan if you'd sit on the table there- I think we can get started," said Doctor Gray gesturing for the three of them to come inside the door. He gently shut the door behind them just as Ran lifted Conan up onto the exam table.

Once Conan was well situated and the tissue paper stopped crackling underneath him, Doctor Gray flipped a page over on his clipboard and began, "So how old are you, Conan-kun?"

"He'll be turning nine this year," answered Ran quickly.

"Nine. That's a big year," Gray sent a knowing smile Ran's way before continuing, "So I understand that Conan was only a recently woken coma victim, correct? How long was he under?"

"Yes, a little over a month."

"Says here he has an acute post-traumatic amnesia," at their expressions, Doctor Gray quickly corrected himself. "It's quite normal, don't worry. Some coma victims wake up with full awareness- others suffer from a brief period of amnesia. After your injuries, your brain in an attempt to protect itself- shut down for a period of time. But... from what I can tell, it doesn't seem to be affecting your daily mental processes too much. Still a very intelligent young boy."

"But sir-" began Ran.

"Doctor Gray, please."

"But Doctor... There's still many things he doesn't remember."

"Yes. Mr. Mori did mention that to me. It seems Conan may be selectively blocking certain portions of his life out."

"But why?" Ran asked mistakenly glancing in Conan's direction. The boy guilty shifted weight onto his other side, glaring at the floor.

"It's not a conscious decision. Usually the mind will try to fill in things that don't quite make sense. So when there are holes in our memory, we quickly fill them up or ignore them. So perhaps Conan does remember these people, but he just can't make the connections to the events in his life yet. The details confuse him so he blocks them out," Doctor Gray sent Conan a sympathetic glance. "It's not your fault, Conan-kun. It's a perfectly normal human function. Don't ever feel the need to force yourself to remember. When you are ready to- you will."

"He still doesn't remember his parents. And we just found a few more people he no longer recognizes. So you... you can see why we are concerned, Doctor," explained Kogoro in a low voice.

Conan found his cheeks going red. He _did_ remember his parents. Just incorrectly. He swore his mother was thin and had light colored hair and that his father was an writer. But those facts contradicted those that Ran and Kogoro had been informed. His father was a businessman and his mother was dark haired and fat. Fumiyo Edogawa- the name meant nothing to Conan. But he couldn't remember his mother's name anyway so it might as well have been her.

"Well, let's not get ahead of ourselves," said Doctor Gray. He pulled out a few slips of paper- handed one to Kogoro and the other to Conan. On it was a list of questions- Conan stared at it suspiciously.

"Now, to properly gauge the extent of his memory loss, I'd like you all to fill out this list of questions. Mr. Mori- if you and your daughter could consult each other on the answers in the other room," He opened the examination room's door for them. "That would be great. Conan will stay here with me, and try to answer the questions as well. Once you're done, we'll compare the results."

Without question, Kogoro took the clipboard, sheet of paper, and pen into the other room. Ran followed reluctantly behind him. She cast one last sympathetic glance Conan's way before closing the door behind her.

"Go ahead and fill out the form, Conan-kun. If you feel you can't answer one, don't worry about leaving it blank. It isn't an exam. We just want to see how you're doing, alright?"

But despite the Doctor's kind words, Conan couldn't help but feel nervous. He scanned the list of questions written in simple hiragana and katakana uneasily, his heart jammed up his throat... pulsating. He felt rather sick.

_Calm down, Conan,_ Conan told himself. _Just take them one at a time. You've answered questions harder than this... I think._

Taking a few deep calming breaths, Conan focused on the first question. What's your full name? Well that was easy.

Edogawa Conan.

Next question, how old are you? Thank goodness.

18... Conan erased the extra digit. What compelled him to do that?

What are your hobbies?

He should know this. He should. Well, Ran brought him a lot of detective fiction books while he was in the hospital to pass the time, even though he had been much more interested in watching the television. Maybe he should write that down.

Reading.

It looked rather pathetic sitting there by himself. So Conan hastily added next to it,

Playing with my friends.

There. At least he sort of answered the question.

What are your favorite foods? What is your favorite color? When is your birthday?

Conan labored through the last several questions. A lot of it he could only suppose. Some of it he had come to realize through the Detective Boys or Ran. But none of it were answers he came up with on his own. All of these he had asked before and accepted the answers of. These should be his opinion... but he had long since forgotten what his opinion was.

Are you happy?

Unfortunately, Conan knew this one. A lump formed in his chest as he playfully spelled out the English letters.

_No. I not._

He knew that the results were terrible. Doctor Gray scourged over the two sheets with great interest. The differences between the two sheets were probably vast, Conan realized guiltily. He knew he shouldn't have been upset by this. It wasn't his fault. But still Conan felt shame.

"Well...?" egged Kogoro curiously.

"I think at this point, if it would put you all a bit more at ease, I would recommend arranging weekly therapy to help gently console a recall. I think it'd help Conan to let out some frustration and also help to learn a bit more about himself. You are of course welcome to attend the sessions with him."

"Of course," said Ran quickly.

She rested a gentle hand on Conan's shoulder. Her touch soothed and tapered his self loathing. But when he looked over at her, his heart plummeted again. Ran wanted Conan to remember... _him_. Shinichi. Bitterly, Conan looked away again.

"Then it's settled then. Though I have no doubt that with such a supportive and optimistic atmosphere, Conan will be able to recover in no time."

Conan didn't meet any of their eyes.

* * *

**K**ogoro had only just swept his desk of beer cans before his afternoon appointment knocked at the door.

Ran had left to attend what was left of the classes that day. But Conan was persuaded to take it easy and wait one more day before returning to school. He stayed but skulked around the house like a child denied of a treat. He had only just settled on the couch, curled up reading one of the books Ran had offered him earlier. She had pilfered the book from Shinichi's large library.

"He won't miss a few books. Besides, he's already read them all a thousand times," she said justifying her actions.

And apparently Conan had read them before too. He was able to pick out familiar phrases and scenes from the text. But not quite enough to know the outcome. He had just started on his third Sherlock Homes story (he was really starting to like this detective) The Red Herring, when Kogoro let his client in.

He was startled by the sight of short portly fellow dressed to match his drab looking trench coat standing in the door frame. He was carrying a manila folder weighted down with papers and an unusual hat squashed over his head. Conan looked over the top of his book, recognizing the man almost immediately.

"Megure-kebu."

"Mori-san. I'm sorry to come to you under these pretenses but I thought that we could use your help." Megure stepped into the office, not bothering to give Kogoro any chance to stop him. Kogoro was too stunned to notice, following numbly behind the man as he plucked off his shoes and slipped on some visitor's slippers.

"So you are my client?"

Megure plopped himself onto the couch next to Conan and offered a knowing grin, "Disappointed?"

Kogoro didn't catch the sentiment. "I thought I was speaking to a female client."

"Ah yes. My wife, Midori, called. I thought it was best that it was best if it weren't well known that the police were getting outsider's help. After all, since you aren't on the payroll I'll have to pay you out of my own pocket," as if to prove such a point, Megure procured a small bundle of beige yen notes from his pocket. He held them out tantalizingly for the detective before placing them on the coffee table between them.

"Why do you want my help?"

"Because..." said Megure at length. "I'd prefer that this case be finished as quickly as possible."

"And what case would that be?"

Mequre slapped the case folder on the table next to the cash. "A serial killer."

"Really?"

"Don't sound so excited," grumbled Megure. "He's one sick bastard. I mean it, the crime scenes are enough to make you heave. He binds his victims, pumps them full of some sort of narcotic, and then stabs a multiple of times."

Kogoro was just reaching over to open the manila folder when he stopped. Curiously, he looked up at Conan who was still deeply engrossed in his book.

"Aren't you interested in this?"

Conan paused only to flip a page. "Should I be?"

Kogoro angrily snatched the book out of Conan's grip and tossed it behind the couch.

"Hey!" Conan cried.

He about climbed to his feet before Kogoro forced him to sit back down.

"Sit," he ordered. "And pay attention like you normally do."

Conan sat on his hands, grumpily.

"Uh. Mori-san, perhaps it be best to let Conan-kun sit this case out. I know he's helpful in noticing key details and all but... it may be a bit too gruesome for him," began Megure hesitantly.

Kogoro only shrugged him off. "The kid practically plays with cadavers. Why would it start bothering him now?"

Kogoro flipped open the folder, startled to see the victims portraits staring back at him. They were all so... young. The oldest was maybe eleven at the most. The youngest being far too young.

Kogoro knew he didn't want to see the crime photos for these batch of victims.

"My God. They're all..."

"Children. Yes. And he specializes in killing those who specifically have parents in the police force."

Conan felt his body go weak. "But... why? Why kill a kid?"

"We don't know," said Megure darkly, cracking his knuckles against his palm. "I was hoping Mori-san could catch the nutty bastard so I could ask him myself."

"With all respect, Megure-kebu. If I get my hands on him, he wouldn't be able to answer any of your questions."

* * *

To Be Continued...  
Please Read and Review!

I know its been forever and a day since I updated. And most of you people probably thought I dropped the story. Well to be honest, I thought about it. But since I still had notes on it, I decided to keep it and wait for a strike of DC inspiration to come again.

Which of course it did.

So here's the continuation. Hopefully it won't take too long for the next chapter.

Thanks so much to those who have reviewed so far! BeachCat, A Bibliophile, Elvin Flame, BluFox15, Tsuki Kurayami, KuroNite, Hydok, Horselvr4evr123, diddledum, rebecca85, Kari Minamoto, LambSam, Emerald-eclipse, CrystalKitteN-MeW, karissa, Rasgara, Deaths pet fox, AntiSora, AngryPinkChibi, Inumaru12, The Violent Tomboy, Ekly Valdur, Melanie Paige Martin, Teldra, kudoshinichi23, Legendary Chimera, BRYGUYB16, ILuvRanma, The Modern Prometheus, Becky Yuy, Anne, Serphenia, Basser, DaisyAnimeluvr, YumeTakato, Crysania Fay, TerrierLee, Blu-chan, MovinForward218 and Southpaw.

Most of you will need to reread the first chapter. The rest won't even remember having reviewed. But that's okay. It's been a year since I've updated. But I'm back now. And I sincerely apologize for the wait.

Next time, Kogoro investigates the serial killer case. And Conan begins to have disturbing nightmares.

Please review!

With a keen eye for detail, one truth prevails.


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